Yellowstone National Park 2025 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
09 through 12 June 2025
Yellowstone National Park
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
~ June 2025 ~
Note:
In this report I am adding the family names of the grizzly families I see that we have a good idea who they are. Tyler B had prepared charts for the last several years, using information for Randi M, me and others about the northern range and information from others on other grizzly families in Yellowstone. For example, the grizzly sow with one yearling often seen on or around Ski Slope is called the (Ski Slope family). I find it helps trying to figure out what grizzlies we can see in the year. Some families we have watched as cubs of the year, then yearlings, then two-year-olds, and then the following year with cubs of the year again.
June 9th - Monday
38 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to a warm 85 degrees out in the park. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 5:55 a.m. Terri W found a courting pair of grizzlies in the Bowl. At 6:00 a.m. Bob W found the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Middle Ridge family) in the Bowl digging away. At 6:15 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs (Druid Peak family) digging north of Picnic Pullout. At 8:10 a.m. I found the grizzly sow and two yearlings (Institute family) north of the Institute. At 9:30 a.m. I found three black and two gray Junction Butte wolves running through the Salad Bowl. A brief sighting that no one else got to see. At 9:45 a.m. a gentleman told me there were three grizzlies in the Bell. It was the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Specimen Ridge family). At 12:15 p.m. I found a gray uncollared wolf coming uphill towards the Mollies den area viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 12:45 p.m. Margaret L found the grizzly sow with one yearling (Ski Slope family) on the west flank of Ski Slope. At 6:20 p.m. Alexander M, Silver Gate Guides, showed me a large colorful grizzly digging on # 2 finger on Norris. At 7:10 p.m. Cindy B's group showed me a dark grizzly going over the skyline on Norris viewed from Trashcan Pullout.
June 10th - Tuesday
40 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 80 degrees out in the park. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. I stopped at Floating Island Pond today and watched ruddy ducks and Coot chicks. At 4:05 a.m. on my way into the park just before Soda Butte Picnic area I had a large grizzly cross the road south to north in front of me. I had to stop down the road to put everything in the front seat back in place. At 5:55 a.m. Hunter G, Silver Gate Guides, had a grizzly traveling around to the north of Coyote Overlook. It had to avoid a couple of large bull bison on its way over the skyline. At 6:00 a.m. we had a black bear east of Amethyst Bench. At 6:10 a.m. I found three black Junction Butte wolves in the tree line south of Picnic. I spotted them three hundred yards west of Picnic Pullout while in the car waiting for people in cars watching bison. At 6:15 a.m. we had a large black bear in the tree line east of Footbridge Pullout. At 6:25 a.m. I found a grizzly on the skyline north of Picnic Pullout. At 6:45 a.m. Wendy B found a black bear sow with one black cub of the year in the tree line southwest of Picnic Pullout. At 6:50 a.m. Gary G found a small grizzly in the Bowl. At 7:30 a.m. Gary G found a larger grizzly digging in the Bowl. At 7:35 a.m. Gary G found a courting pair of grizzlies bedded in the Bowl. We watched them for a while, and they moved to a snowbank near the skyline in A-Z Meadow viewed from Coyote Overlook. Randi M was at Dorothy's Pullout and could view both of the courting pair as they were mating. Later Margaret L said the courting pair was back in the Bowl and traveled west to the snowbank on the top of A-Z Meadow again later. At 2:00 p.m. Paul H and I found two grizzlies very briefly under the snow cornices. Tomorrow, we would see them again under the cornices and identify them as the grizzly sow with one yearling (Ski Slope family.) At 4:30 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. I had a small cinnamon black bear just off the road at Lower Baronette. At 6:15 p.m. I found three grizzlies digging just below the skyline north of the Institute. I am assuming it was the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Ski Slope family). At 6:50 p.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Pebble Creek family) of the west flank of Baronette or northeast of Pebble Creek.
June 11th - Wednesday
42 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 67 degrees out in the park with afternoon showers. At 5:10 a.m. Gary G found a grizzly digging on Amethyst Bench. At 5:30 a.m. Gary G found a grizzly digging in the Bowl. At 5:35 a.m. we had a large dark grizzly found east of Amethyst Bench traveling east. It would continue traveling east all the way to Chalcedony Fan in good view for a long time staying this side of the tree line. At 6:10 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly just across the Soda Butte Creek at Footbridge Pullout. When I arrived, it was near the new growth forest, I had three looks at its backside before running over the hill. The Mollies wolfpack have a den above the new growth forest and expect the grizzly did not want to hang around there. At 6:15 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with one yearling (Ski Slope family) under the snow cornices. We have watched grizzly sows with cubs that stay around Ski Slope south of the Institute occasionally travel east to dig under the snow cornices viewed from Footbridge Pullout, looking to the southwest. At 6:20 a.m. I found an uncollared gray Mollies wolf running down the K Meadow. I called in the sighting, and some watched it on K Meadow, but never sighted the wolf again. At 7:45 a.m. Helena E told me about a grizzly in the A-Z Meadow. It was running south and downhill and in view for only a couple of minutes. At 8:00 a.m. Randi M found two grizzlies on the skyline of Norris viewed from the Confluence. They were wrestling and play fighting, so assumed sub adults. At 8:10 a.m. we had a larger dark grizzly joined the pair from the north. The large grizzly followed one of the sub adults and all three stayed together. We at first assumed a courting pair but none of that behavior. We had watched this action before, seeing two sow grizzlies with one boar. In the previous event, the boar followed and mated with one of the two. When finished the courting pair walked away with the odd sow following at a close distance. We speculated that maybe the two sows were related (mother, daughter, or something, and both were without cubs). Later tonight we watched the threesome on Pennylane as they were digging in a small group. Tonight, they looked more like two sub adults and a larger one. It does not make sense but no courting behavior tonight. At 8:30 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs (Druid Peak family) north of the Institute. Good viewing as they glowed in the sun before moving east over the hill and out of sight. We did not relocate them again today. At 2:45 p.m. we had a black bear jam at the east end of Phantom Lake. At 3:00 p.m. we had a black bear on the slopes of Hellroaring. At 3:45 p.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Institute family) north of the Institute. At 4:30 p.m. Gary G found a medium sized grizzly digging on the #2 finger on Norris. At 5:10 p.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Specimen Ridge family) on the first meadow behind Ski Slope.
June 12th - Thursday
37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to the low 70's out in the park this evening. At 5:20 a.m. Randi M found the grizzly sow with one yearling (Ski Slope family) back on Ski Slope today, but yesterday under the snow cornices to the east. At 6:20 a.m. Terri W found the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Middle Ridge family) digging in Salad Bowl or the other name of Southern Divide Ridge. Later we found they had moved into the Bowl viewed from the Institute of pullouts east of there. At 7:25 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs (Druid Peak family) north of Picnic Pullout. At 8:30 a.m. Gary G found a large grizzly digging in Penny Lane, viewed from Footbridge Pullout. It was in sight a long time this morning. At 10:10 a.m. I found a tall grizzly on Druid Peak. It was moving to the west on the lower part of Druid Peak digging occasionally and traveling along. John B spotted more grizzlies on Druid Peak. It ended up that the grizzly with three two-year-old cubs were above the tall grizzly. We watched as the sow charged the tall grizzly and a heated confrontation occurred for three to four minutes, before the tall grizzly moved off. The three two-year-old cubs had stayed up hill and watched the action until the sow returned to join them. They all sat or laid down on a rock formation watching downhill for the longest time. At 5:25 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear near Pebble Creek. At 5:40 p.m. Gary G had a black bear in K-2 Meadow. At 6:00 p.m. Gary G found a colorful grizzly digging on Penny Lane. At 6:45 p.m. I found the grizzly sow with two yearlings (Specimen Ridge family) on the strip of land between Ski Slope and the first meadow behind Ski Slope.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers seen this report: Montana: Rick M, Carolyn G, Wendy B, Jeremy S, Dan and Laurie L, Taylor R, Kristina G, JoJo K, and Helena E. From Utah: Paul H and Charlie M. From Colorado: Terri S. From Minnesota: Scott W. And from Illinois: Sandra and Ken H. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M. From New Mexico: Bob W. From Wyoming: Terri W, Chris B, and sons Jack, Rock, and Finn, Tom H, and Sandi R. From Montana: Doug M, and Margaret L. From Virginia: Big John B. From Utah: Kevin and Pam A. And from Idaho: Larry M. Others seen this report. From Montana: Quinn H, Kate J, Ashea M, Mike S, Micheal S, Alexander M, Hunter G, Chris H, MacNeil L, Kyle D, Evan S, Anu L, Shauna B, Audra C, and Brad B. From Oregon: Kurt and Beth E. And from Vermont: John K.
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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